Assignment 5: Bad Elf GPS Unit and Mobile App

Introduction

The purpose of this activity was to practice using the Bad Elf GPS Unit in combination with the Bad Elf app for an iOS device, which, like the previous assignment, will help in the upcoming navigation lab. When it comes to increased accessibility of GIS data and functionality, smartphones and tablets are on the rise. Think about it- apps like Google Maps, Strava, Find My iPhone, et al are quite popular for everyday navigation/directions, tracking a bike ride/run, and other location services. Utilizing this platform to connect with a GPS unit seems rudimentary, but can greatly increase the functionality of this fading technology.

In addition to using the GPS unit in accordance with the iOS app, there are other apps with a variety of functionalities that are compatible with data collected from the Bad Elf technology. These include the following apps:

Collector for ArcGIS - Free

• Collect and update data.
• Cache maps for offline use.
• Attach photos to collected features (like story mapping).
• Access to professional-grade GPS receivers.
• Feature and places search.
• Track log functions.

Survey 123 for ArcGIS - Free

• Simple survey form-based software.
• Online survey form download and submission functionalites.
• Offline survey data collection and form saving capabilities.

GIS4Mobile-X - Free

• Offers data collection and synchronization functionalities.
• Allows user to connect collected data to account servers or personal servers.

Theodolite HD - $6 pricing with in-app purchase offers

• Allows user to capture and geo-tag photographs and videos with saving/caching capabilities.
• User is able to overlay geographic data, time, date, and notes in the photo viewer.
• Contains map viewer as well which allows user to view features like roads, trails, et al.
• App contains reference angle, navigation calculator, data logging, and .KML export functionalities as well.
• Offers in-app upgrades such as "team tracking" which allows up to 20 users to collect data for the same project all at once.

Gaia GPS - Free, Member level ($10/year), and Premium member level ($30/year)

• Offers downloadable access to both historic and modern hiking, hunting, off-roading, and otherwise trail-blazing navigation maps.
• Allows users to track, sync, back up, and share waypoint data collected.
• Also has geo-tagging photograph functionality.

Gelileo Offline Maps - $4 pricing

• Allows user to download, search for, and use maps offline.
• Allows user to search for maps offline.
• Allows user to track, sync, backup, and share data in app.
• Contains bookmarking functionalities and map support.

Fog of World - $5 pricing

• Allows user to visualize where they have and haven't been in the world.
• Tracks and displays where the user has been.
• Allows user to sync and share track log data.
• Creates statistics based on user's travel experiences.

Methods

For this lab, students were asked to connect a Bad Elf GPS unit to their iOS device to collect a track log of a walk around campus. This track log feature will be used to track student groups when they navigate their way through the upcoming priory navigation lab. The devices pair through Bluetooth and the iOS app collects the user's path from when they push the Track button at the start of their data collection and again to stop their data collection (figure 1).

Figure 1: Bad Elf GPS Pro+ GPS unit.

After the students completed their walk and stopped tracking their route, the data was available for viewing in the iOS app. The data collected included the tracked path superimposed on a satellite imagery basemap, as well as a speed, altitude, and distance tab conatining averages, charts and distances (figures 2, 3, and 4). The green pin was where the track log was started and the red pin was where the track log was stopped.

Figure 2: iOS user interface with speed tab and resulting data shown.

Figure 3: iOS user interface with altitude tab and resulting data shown.

Figure 4: iOS user interface with distance tab and resulting data shown.

From there, the path data was able to be shared through e-mail or for use in other apps as a .KML file. This was done to create the map shown in figure 7 (see Results section).

The .KML was sent from the iOS app to email. From there, the .KML file was downloaded and brought into ArcMap using the KML to Layer tool (figure 6).

Figure 6: KML to Layer tool window. 

Results

Figure 7: Resulting map.

Discussion

Overall, I found the functionality and easily operable application to have real-world benefits. Whether the app is used for research or for logging where you walk, run, bike, etc, this app offers access to geographic information to anyone with an iOS device. 

One of the things I really like about this app is the ability to export the resulting data to other useful GIS, recreation, or travel apps, as well as desktop applications. Another nice feature of this app was that the user can collect data offline-which seemed to be a common theme among the other mobile apps discussed in the Introduction section. 

There were a few downsides to this app as well. One of which was the accuracy of the track log, in figure 7, it is clear to see that some areas of the path aren't fully in accordance with the path I actually walked. For instance, the map shows that I crossed the river and came back  Another issue I had with the app was its floating placement in Google Earth Pro (GEP). The polyline was not mapped on the ground in GEP, but rather floating above the surface. This can be problematic for users who only have access to this program or other programs that could produce this error.